To have refused to get out of my car for the police in the middle of the night?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Was driving home from work at just after 2 a.m last night when I was pulled over by a pair of male coppers in a squad car after I swerved in the road to avoid a pothole.

I stopped, lowered my window a crack and then turned the engine off and made sure all the doors were locked. They both got out of the car and came over, asked about where I was going, where I’d been etc etc and then asked about the swerve- I explained about the pothole, and that I didn’t consider the move to have been dangerous as there were no other vehicles or anywhere near me (they had been some distance in front of me at the time and on the other side of the road but there was absolutely no chance of a collision) and no pedestrians anywhere around.
Then they asked if I would get out of the car and take a breathalyser test. I refused- I said I’d happily drive to the police station (maybe a mile- mile and a half away) and take a breathalyser there, but that I didn’t feel safe getting out of my car and being alone with two massive blokes in the middle of the night with no other people around, and them being in a uniform didn’t change that for me.

They asked a few more questions about my work, if they needed to would anyone be able to verify that I’d been working, gave me a lecture about driving safely and in the end let me go home with no further action taken - but I’ve just had a phonecall from another police officer basically telling me off for not just doing as I was told.

Was I BU?

You did the right thing. I would've done the same.

Too right I'm paranoid after the very scary experience a friend had in the next county. Not all police, but certainly one dodgy one locally so....

Nice you can acknowledge it’s still not all though, despite hearing of the incident and being able to believe the truth of it.
That sounds like I’m being sarcastic but I’m genuinely not!

Not only were you NBA, I am positively inspired to do the same thing. I am the sort of person (doormat) who would have complied to save someones feelings/made their job easier. But you are bloody 100% right, some police are bloody dangerous and they circle the wagons when one of their number is questioned.

Hope you gave the follow up caller a piece of your mind considering recent events of police abuse.

Well done OP x

Bloody well done you

Glad to have seen this post.
I would of probably just opened the car and got out, panicking I was in trouble.
But now I wouldn't so thank you.

Can you tell us how to visually distinguish a decent police officer from a Wayne Couzens type?

I would’ve done the same. The police have lost my trust and respect.

Not unreasonable at all. Apart from anything else, they can only perform a breath test if they have reasonable suspicion you were driving whilst over the prescribed limit. They clearly didn’t form reasonable suspicion as, if they had, the6 could have arrested you for failing to provide a roadside sample. I hope you told the officious twerp on the phone where to go.

I have often wondered what to do in this sort of situation.
I wouldn’t allow them in my house either.
You did the right thing.
Its good to hear they allowed you on your way.
They could be anyone, uniform, id mean nothing these days

It’s not a choice and not trusting the police is not a reason not to comply. They had reasonable suspicion of driving under the influence because the OP swerved. Had they decided she needed to be breathalysed and she had continued to refuse to engage, she would have been arrested for failing to provide a sample. The police can’t allow her to drive to the nearest police station to give a sample if they suspect she isn’t fit to do so. What happens if everyone does this ? There would be chaos - you can’t just refuse because you’re a lone woman.

A lot of posters are confusing the rules on what you can do after a traffic accident (you should usually stop but it is reasonable to go to the nearest police station instead if you cannot do so safely) with the law on being stopped by the police.

Refusing to provide a breathalyser test without an excuse recognised by the law as reasonable is a criminal offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and will get you banned from driving for 12 months and potentially banged up for 3 months. While, as women, we understand the OP's fears, the law does not usually recognise fear of the police as a reason not to comply with their instructions (other than in exceptional circumstances e.g. if you genuinely do not know they are police).

The OP was lucky but it was a big risk. If it happens to anyone else, you would be much better advised to say that you are happy to take the test, but not willing to get out of the car.

Not if they suspect you of drink driving you’re not.

Can anyone offer up a solution for this one:

Lone woman driving home, HAS been drinking and has swerved on the road.

2 male cops pull her over and she refuses to get out because she's worried, should they allow her to drive to the station if they have a real suspicion she's been drinking? Should they allow her to just drive off anyway? Allow her to drive to the station?

What if she demands a female cop but all female cops are tied up at domestics, rapes, burglaries and all the other crimes which there are already not enough cops to deal with- what happens then?

Are the cops supposed to sit and wait for a female cop to be free, whilst the drunk drivers alcohol level is coming down, potentially allowing her to blow under when she would have been over the limit earlier? Is that fair?

What if she even refuses to wind her windows down to be breathalysed? She's going to get arrested whether it be there and then or when the cops catch up to her at home, is it enough of a defence to get off with refusing to provide?

Genuinely interested in the above and how there can be a balance between women feeing safe and women's being held accountable for crime.

If he had grounds for requesting a breathalyser and you refused then you faced an immediate year's ban plus being arrested.
You are lucky he was reasonable,I'm guessing he didn't suspect you had been drinking though.
Yabu,there's thousands of decent police officer's putting lives in the line for public safety every day and deserve respect and support.
there have been some really evil specimens but there were two officers at the scene.
You were safe enough,turn the hysteria down a notch .

YANBU- absolutely well done for staying in your car I would have bottled it and got out. How are we supposed to trust officers atm esp a female alone at that time!

I can completely see your point and actions.

Most of us would have got out - and probably have been ok? Who knows.

But the Police need to win trust back. Some of their bad apples, of which seem to be quite a few, have made their job harder - and others more wary.

Sadly there are quite a few groups who have cause to be wary than me - older, straight white male.

Well done you OP. Great example to us all. If it ever happens to me, I'll do the same.

And just to add OP, I'm not questioning what you did, you felt unsafe and they clearly didn't have enough of a suspicion that you had been drinking hence letting you go, right decision by the sounds of it.

Sounds like it would have been a sgt ringing you afterwards, anyone is welcome to make a complaint about police should they wish- this doesn't cross the threshold of harassment though as many have said.

There is no reason whatsoever why they could not have handed her the breathalyser through the window - problem solved.

Maybe they could start by adequately funding the police so that police could actually all go out in 2s.

YANBU, OP. I think you were sensible.

Here's the relevant law:

'If you refuse to take a breath test, or fail to supply a sample of breath and do not have a ‘reasonable excuse’, you can be arrested. A reasonable excuse could be a genuine physical or mental condition stopping you from giving a sample.'

www.gov.uk/stopped-by-police-while-driving-your-rights/breath-tests

2 big men to help protect each other from the perps.

As she speeds off into the distance or smashes it up!!! Presumably if she smashed up the breathalyser she could still have sat there refusing to get out of her car.

Yanbu and I would make a complaint about the phone call you received also.